Aug. 22, 2018

US Congressman Indicted, Partially for Spending Campaign Funds on Steam Games

The total alleged charges add up to over $250,000.

By Colin Stevens

United States Congressman Duncan Hunter of California and his wife Margaret Hunter have been indicted by the Federal Election Committee for spending campaign funds on personal expenses, including over $1300 on Steam games. The indictment has just been unsealed.

Reported by Kotaku, charges were made to Steam on 68 separate occasions in 2015, though the Congressman claims it was his son who made the charges. Per The San Diego Union-Tribune, Hunter himself labeled these expenses as "Steam Games” on his 2015 campaign finance disclosure, noting them as personal expenses needed to be paid back.

A fraction of the Steam charges.

The couple’s spokesman said the son used Hunter’s credit card to pay for a single game, then various unauthorized charges were made following this. A full list of these specific charges can be found here, and span from October 2015 to December 2015.

Many have dug through the 47-page indictment and found some other interesting charges, including a twitter user who found a $271.22 charge to BestBuy for a gaming keyboard and mouse back in 2016.

Duncan and Margaret Hunter are scheduled to appear in federal court in San Diego on Thursday for their formal arraignment, where they will likely plead guilty or not guilty to multiple charges from the FEC. Notably, Hunter has maintained his innocence throughout the Department of Justice’s investigation.